A MRAP, or mine-resistant ambush protected vehicle, received in 2014 through the 1033 military surplus program, sits Thursday morning March 21, 2019, outside the Weld County Sheriff’s Office at 1950 O St. in Greeley. Weld County uses the vehicle for rescue purposes only, including during last week’s bomb cyclone blizzard. (Michael Brian/mbrian@greeleytribune.com)MRAP-GDT-032019-1

Sgt. Pete Jones spotted the stranded motorist from the headlight sticking out of the snow.

The driver had ignored all the warnings and travel advisories before the March 13 bomb cyclone that blanketed roads with snow and shut down parts of Weld County.

The driver and his dog were on their way to Iowa. They didn’t make it past Interstate 85 and Weld County Road 126, about 7 miles south of the Wyoming state line.

That’s when Jones rolled up in Rescue 1, a 25-ton, decommissioned military transport, to retrieve him. It’s called the mine-resistant ambush protected vehicle, or MRAP.

Over the next 24 hours, the MRAP would aid in rescuing three more stranded motorists in Weld County, including a state trooper. Two of the responses involved transporting the motorists in the MRAP.

“We got called out around 2:30 p.m. and didn’t get home until 2 a.m.,” Jones said of the March 13 storm.

The historic blizzard was no match for the Weld County Sheriff’s Department’s mega-truck. It marked its second blizzard since the county acquired it in 2014 as a rescue vehicle and safe transport for SWAT members in dangerous situations.

The vehicle was free through the military 1033 act, which allows excess equipment be donated to civilian law enforcement agencies. All Weld County had to pay was transport costs to get it here from Texas.

Sheriff Steven Reams said he “wasn’t initially very warm to the idea” of bringing Rescue 1 to Weld County, but eventually changed his mind.

“I learned that the $750,000 piece of equipment would be slated for destruction if it wasn’t put to meaningful use by a law enforcement agency, and I agreed to bring it into our fleet to help the citizens of Weld County,” Reams said. “We make it available at various community events so people can see how their federal tax dollars are being repurposed to help the people of Weld County.”

The 2008 flood in Greeley and Evans springboarded conversations to bring a military-grade vehicle to Weld County for rescue purposes, Jones said.

A MRAP, or mine-resistant ambush protected vehicle, received in 2014 through the 1033 military surplus program, sits Thursday morning March 21, 2019, outside the Weld County Sheriff’s Office at 1950 O St. in Greeley. Weld County uses the vehicle for rescue purposes only, including during last week’s bomb cyclone blizzard. (Michael Brian/mbrian@greeleytribune.com)MRAP-GDT-032019-4

“If we had something like this back then, it would have been effective in getting more people out quicker,” Jones said.

Jones, who is a member of the SWAT team, is trained to operate Rescue 1. Just before it came to Weld County, he and other SWAT members took a week-long driving course in Canyon City.

“We wanted to make sure we were driving safely for the citizens of Weld County,” Jones said.

The Tribune on Thursday interviewed Jones from the belly of Rescue 1 after he opened up the back, which seats seven people comfortably. There are two seats in front that are shielded by thick, 800-pound doors.

The back is loaded with cots, water, Gatorade and other provisions for anyone rescued. It is octagonal, designed to absorb the shock of any IEDs the vehicle would have ran over in war-town parts of the world.

The Rescue 1 was pieced together from parts new and old in Texas. Its engine came to Weld County new, but its seats and interior looked well-traveled. The odometer reads some 15,000 miles.

As for driving it, Jones compares it to a dump truck. “It’s a little smoother,” he said, “but braking and steering are similar.”

From the cab the driver can turn off the cooling fan as to not suck water into the vehicle if traversing floodwaters. They can also lower or raise the tire’s air pressure depending on the terrain.

But getting traction on ice can still prove hazardous, even in a military vehicle.

“If it’s snowing it’s not that terrible,” Jones said. “It’s the ice.”

A MRAP, or mine-resistant ambush protected vehicle, received in 2014 through the 1033 military surplus program, sits Thursday morning March 21, 2019, outside the Weld County Sheriff’s Office at 1950 O St. in Greeley. Weld County uses the vehicle for rescue purposes only, including during last week’s bomb cyclone blizzard. (Michael Brian/mbrian@greeleytribune.com)MRAP-GDT-032019-6

Snowfall totals in Greeley following the bomb cycle ranged from 3.7 inches just south of town to 4.1 inches on the University of Northern Colorado campus, according to numbers provided the following day by the National Weather Service.

Eight inches to a foot of snow were reported throughout other parts of Weld County.

That Thursday morning, there were 18 crashes with unknown injuries, 17 crashes without injuries, one crash with injuries, 50 citizen assists and 42 people and two dogs taken to shelters.

Deputy Tommy Lamb, also on the SWAT team, manned Rescue 1 on the second day of the blizzard. The snowfall had subsided, but many back roads were still not safe unless you had a military-grade vehicle.

“A lot of the vehicles that were stuck were bypassing the the road Closed signs,” Lamb said.

Jones also drove Rescue 1 in the 2016 blizzard.

“The road conditions and the snow were about the same,” he said. “The wind (this year) was the worst part.”

Rescue 1 by the numbers

Weight: 25 tons

Horsepower: Between 300-360

Times used for SWAT-related responses: About 6 per year

Capacity: 7 in the back, plus 2 in the cab

Responses during the 2019 bomb cyclone: 4

Outside of inclement weather, Rescue 1 is dispatched about six times per year for SWAT-related responses, Jones said. The vehicle’s thick skin keeps those inside safe from gunfire. It has no offense capabilities such as a machine gun mount or turret.

Jones hopes to see more MRAPs added to the department.

“This one vehicle is stretched thin for such a huge county,” he said.

Some residents, as Sheriff Reams initially was, are at first apprehensive about the vehicle because of its intimidating presence, Jones said. But through public education events, they warm up to it.

“By the end of it they’re thanking us,” Jones said. “They realize it’s not a military vehicle for us, it’s a rescue vehicle for them.”

— Adam Poulisse is the go and do reporter for the Greeley Tribune. Let him know of anything fun going on in the area by calling him at 970-392-4440 or emailing him at apoulisse@greeleytribune.com.